Stoudamire’s 54 outdone by Dickau’s 3s

Dan Dickau’s breakout season and Baron Davis’ return to form have suddenly made the New Orleans Hornets a much tougher team to beat.

Dickau made six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 25 points, leading the Hornets to their third victory in four games, 112-106 over the struggling Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night in New Orleans.

“I never consciously decided” to start taking 3-pointers, Dickau said. “A couple open ones popped up. I just knocked them down. Then I got left wide open a few more times, and if you’re a shooter you’ve got to take it.”

Davis, who returned from a back injury in late December, scored 22 points, including seven key free throws in the final 1:03, to help New Orleans overcome Damon Stoudamire’s 54-point performance.

Stoudamire set a career high and broke Geoff Petrie’s franchise record of 51 points. The Portland star was 20 of 32 from the field and made eight 3-pointers (tying the team record Nick Van Exel set Monday in Philadelphia), including one with 8 seconds left to make it 110-106. That came after Stoudamire was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws.

Pacers 101, Suns 83: At Indianapolis, Jermaine O’Neal had 29 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks to lead Indiana to a victory over Phoenix.

76ers 106, Raptors 96: At Philadelphia, Allen Iverson scored 19 of his 32 points in the first quarter, and added 10 assists, as Philadelphia beat Toronto.

Grizzlies 109, Bobcats 89: At Charlotte, N.C., Pau Gasol scored 19 points and James Posey had 17 as Memphis beat Charlotte.

Celtics 106, Hawks 94: At Boston, Ricky Davis came off the bench to score 30 points, and Paul Pierce had 21 points and 15 rebounds to lift Boston over Atlanta.

Pistons 101, Magic 94: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Richard Hamilton scored 26 points and Detroit held on to beat Orlando in Grant Hill’s first game in Auburn Hills in nearly five years.

Spurs 98, Mavericks 95: At San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 25 points, Manu Ginobili added 22 and San Antonio held off Dallas.

Wizards 105, Bucks 103: At Milwaukee, Larry Hughes made a driving layup with 0.7 seconds left to lift Washington over Milawukee. Hughes finished with 23 points, eight assists and five steals.

Timberwolves 93, Nuggets 83: At Denver, Latrell Sprewell scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to help Minnesota beat Denver in a game marred by a fight between Denver’s Nene and Minnesota’s Michael Olowokandi. Olowokandi and Nene were ejected for fighting after getting tangled under the basket and throwing a series of wild punches late in the third.

Clippers 114, Heat 112 (2 OT): At Los Angeles, Shaquille O’Neal’s 39 points and 10 rebounds were overshadowed by Corey Maggette’s off-balance 23-footer with half a second left in the second overtime that lifted Los Angeles over Miami.